Comet Groups!
The Comet Groups name is inspired by Maria Mitchell. She is the first American woman to discover a comet. It was eventually named “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” in her honor.
“It gives me a good feeling to think of this groups exchange of ideas as lights streaking across the sky from one woman to another.” ~ Lee Sinclair
Miss Mitchell’s Comet Group: National
Comet Group National is a group of 11 women from around the USA who are engaged in bringing self defense to the masses via their own violence prevention business, organization, advocacy or instruction. The CG National consults on the curriculum being developed by NMNUSA. They share their time free of charge or proprietary concerns- offering the best SD Strategies they know to resolve conflict. They bring over 220 years of self defense expertise to the table – we’re talking way back to Napoleon ya’ll! That’s an impressive resume by any standard.
Miss Mitchell’s Comet Group: Local
Comet Group Local is a group of 5 woman from various walks of life who meet once a month to discuss strategy, priorities and wise and appropriate courses of action for NMNUSA. They meet at Lee’s house in San Francisco to debate, dialogue and yes, argue. They are invaluable to this effort.
Comet Group National
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Anne Kuzminsky – Anne Kuzminsky, 6th degree black belt in the Martial Arts, is a Rhode Island based self-defense teacher, martial artist, and mom. She has held several leadership positions in the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation, most recently elected its Director-at-Large for Self-Defense. She can be reached at akuzminsky@cox.net. |
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Erin Weed – Erin Weed is a speaker, author and Founder/CEO of Girls Fight Back! GFB empowers young women in college to be their own best protectors via live seminars, books, DVDs, campus clubs and our interactive website. Learn more at http://girlsfightback.com or read Erin’s blog at http://erinweed.com. |
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Joanne Factor - Joanne Factor is the Owner and Principal of Strategic Living, a Seattle-based safety and self-defense training firm. Strategic Living focuses on safety strategies for women of all ages, teen/tween girls, and children. For more information visit http://www.StrategicLiving.org.
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Lynne Marie Wanamaker – Lynne Marie Wanamaker is an anti-violence educator, a certified personal fitness trainer, a writer, a martial artist and a feminist mama. She is based in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. Visit her professional practice at www.compassionateconditioning.com and read her blog at www.mindbodymama.com.
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Nadia Telsey – Nadia Telsey has been involved in the anti-violence movement and self-defense since 1970. She is a co-founder of the Federation of Brooklyn’s Center for Anti-Violence Ed and has taught nationally and internationally. She authored the Self Defense from the Inside Out workbook and curriculum and the Strong, Safe and Free curriculum for people with developmental disabilities. Visit; www.breaking-free.net |
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Ellen Snortland – Ellen Snortland has been involved with self-defense since 1990. On the board of Impact Personal Safety in Los Angeles, she is the author of Beauty Bites Beast, considered a classic in the personal safety “world.” A member of the NWMAF, she has several Youtubes about her work. Contact Ellen at www.snortland.com |
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Kate Webster – Kate is a 2nd degree black belt, Associate Director of Violence Prevention, and teacher of self defense and Seido Karate at Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center in Chicago (www.thousandwaves.org). She is a NWMAF certified self-defense instructor and also an adjunct professor teaching in areas of gender studies, education, and sociology. |
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Clara Porter, MSW – Clara Porter is the founder and program director of Prevention. Action. Change. in Portland Maine. Porter has extensive training in violence prevention programming and has been teaching since 1994. She trained at the Center for Anti-Violence Education in Brooklyn, NY and is a NWMAF certified self defense instructor. www.preventionactionchange.com |
| Diane Long – Diane is a long time self defense advocate/instructor and trauma recovery specialist. She is trained in therapeutic massage, Healing Touch, Somatic Experiencing®, Trauma First Aide™ and chakra bodywork. She is Founder and Executive Director of Kaleidoscope Healing Arts – offering an integrative approach to health and safety. | |
| Linda Ramsey – Linda Ramzy Ranson is a Seventh Degree Black Belt in the martial arts style of Fuji Ryu Ju-Jitsu and is the Founder and CEO of the W.E.S.D.A. / Women’s Empowerment Self Defense Academy. Linda taught Women SD at Princeton University for 10 years and is featured in the Time Magazine cover story “Mind of the Rapist.” Linda teaches both nationally and internationally. | |
| Myrna Condon – Myrna Condon, founder of The Way of the Self, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She has trained with NWMAF, AWSDA, Modern Warrior and is a Certified Rape Prevention instructor. Myrna lives in Southeastern Massachusetts and offers individual, group, and mother/daughter self defense classes. Contact: thewayoftheself@yahoo.com. |
Comet Group Local
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Maggie Law -Maggie is yet another transplanted New Yorker living in San Francisco. She designs web-based business software for a company that also pays her to volunteer a percentage of her working hours to her community. She’s a long-time supporter of and believer in the NMN mission. |
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Vida Sanford – Vida Merwin Sanford has a long history of active leadership in San Francisco’s human service and education arenas. Vida served as consultant to the SF Unified School District and is now working within the SF Mayor’s Office of Interagency Planning as the Director of SFCANDO. Vida is the mother of a middle-school aged daughter. |
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Kristen Dyer – Kristen is a student at USF studying International Relations. Her goal is to work at the UN one day. She volunteers at the NMNW office and is an assistant instructor at local SD classes. |
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Thuy Ngyen -Thuy Nguyen is a passionate educator who has worked with children and youth in San Francisco as a classroom teacher and within non-profit organizations. Currently, she is the director of The Thrive House for Youth and the co-founder of the SF Skate Club, a unique mobile skateboarding program for children. |
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Charlotte Mills Seligman is President of Traversant, Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area brand communications firm she founded in 1999. She is a passionate advocate of equal rights and education for girls and women and works with numerous nonprofits, including Educate Girls Globally, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Refugee Transitions, and Project Homeless Connect. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa, she has two grown sons and three granddaughters. |
Dedication
Thank you Jennifer King and Tim Fredel. Your support throughout the years has changed the lives of thousands. Everything lives on – we’ve only just begun…
Thank you to MM Comet Group National member Ellen Snortland and husband Ken for researching women astronomers and pulling me off the much touted Halley’s Comet and introducing me to Maria Mitchell. You rock!